How Are We to Know?

I want to pose this question today –

“How are we to know the difference between what we have been told, what is the real truth and what is a lie about this election” ?

Once someone is accused of either doing something or not doing something we start to form our opinion. Most times we think our judgement about a person or situation is the correct one and anyone who disagrees with us is an idiot. Amazing how people of the same faith, reading the same book, come up with such different opinions & life styles.

From my own personal perspective, I have in the past, been trapped into believing things that were untrue which were shaped by my own insecurities or prejudice. At the time, I was thinking I was being fair-minded and accurate about something or someone when later I would discover I was wrong. Can you imagine that – a pastor being wrong! 😜

This pattern has lessened over the years, but, at times, I still find myself making judgement calls that looked unbiased, but were in fact slanted. My own humanity keeps sneaking in to corrupt my perspective and thus I make a bad call. Without the Holy Spirit’s help, I’m doomed to making up more stupid opinions.

This idea about, “What do I Believe” relates to our current national obsession in choosing our next president. We are sure our perspective is right and those that disagree with us are blind and ignorant. Maybe not.

So what are we to believe and why?

The news media has thrown so much mud on the wall of public opinion against both candidates that most people want the election over, and at this point don’t know who to trust about either candidates. Some people say they are voting either for a third-party candidate in protest or are refusing to vote at all. Seems childish to me.

Here’s the thing – just because a decision is hard doesn’t mean we should run away from it or vote just in order to avoid not feeling guilty. Don’t throw your vote away to feel good about yourself. The future of this country is in our hands and should we throw our vote away, God will hold us responsible for the freedom we inherited and wasted.

As a Christian, I am required to let God speak to me about the choices I make no matter how it makes me feel. Like correcting our kids when we fear they will hate us for it, or defending someone at the risk of losing our job. The different citations abound, but the similar issue is always before us – who do we live for and do we yield to God’s directives?

The problem for many Christians is they have never learned to hear God’s voice in peace time so when the conflict comes they freeze and blame God for not speaking.

One of the greatest pastors I’ve ever read, A. W. Tozer said it well. People don’t hear God’s voice because they already have made up their minds what they will or will not do. God’s voice becomes silent when we refuse to be informed and directed.

We need to do the hard work of keeping a soft heart and mind so God can get through to us his heart and direction. He sees what we can not, and knows what is needed to be done in any given situation. Let’s not be like the children of Israel who were stiff-necked, and refused to listen to God, let alone to do his will. They were sent into bondage in Babylon because they refused to obey.

The next 4 years, like the last 2 elections, created such destruction in our country because people kept crying for more stuff instead of seeking the good of others and the country.

2 Chronicles 7:14 was written to guide our hearts and minds towards the answer to our national problem – not listening or obeying God.

May God speak so we know the right path to choose.

Pastor Dale